Hello, friends. I’ve completed quite a few kitchen towel projects over the past 4 weeks and decided to mix things up a bit with something new: mug rugs!
I’ve played around with some plain weave threading for rag rug weaving, which worked out pretty well on my rigid heddle loom. (See my post for “Quarantine Coasters” if you’d like to weave some of your own!) I decided to use a canvas weave threading for my latest mug rugs. I like the way it looks and the structure yields a cloth that is sturdy and lays flat. Also, I have a new toy! Check out my new ski shuttle:
The ski shuttle is a nice addition to my weaver’s toolkit. It will be especially handy when I begin weaving larger things with fabric weft, such as placemats and (possibly) rugs.
I’m continuing to prepare for the League of NH Craftsmen Virtual Fair in August. Just today participants were asked and encouraged to share live or prerecorded video of their workspaces. I can say with great certainty that no sane person would be interested in seeing a movie about my workspace. I work in my bedroom. Yep! See here!
You can see that my ironing board serves as 1) ironing board 2) to-be hemmed inventory storage and 3) labeling and shipping station. The 4’ plastic folding table has my sewing machine, cutting mat, and various odds and ends (twill tape, pin cushions, grosgrain ribbon stash, etc…). And then there is my 8 shaft floor loom and bench. It is very cozy. It gets even cozier when Mr Darcy, my Scottish Fife canary hangs out with me.
That’s it! You’ve seen my studio. A Facebook Live tour of my workspace would be over in less than 2 seconds. So I think I will not break out the videography equipment.
Despite the obvious quirks of my workspace, there are some pretty great things about it:
- I can see Mt Monadnock from the front window and my vegetable garden from the side window.
- The wood stove keeps the space nice and warm when the temperatures drop, usually between October – May.
- I hear loons and owls from my studio depending on the time of day.
- And for the last couple of months, my husband, who has been on furlough since May, keeps me company while he works at his computer, which is by the back beam of the loom.
Pretty sweet, right?
Be safe and well,
Kate K.
Kate Kilgus 
My space (guest room) gets like that sometimes. Then I have a big tidy up before it goes back to orderly disarray ;). The mug mats look great and not seen a ski shuttle before.
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It is hard to keep things neat and tidy all of the time! I like the ski shuttle. I thought it would be much heavier in my hand but it was really okay.
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When I get to rag weaving I’ll have to think about it.
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